Fiji successfully defended their Olympic Games gold medal, defeating New Zealand 27-12 in an exciting gold medal match.
The defending champions raced into a 12-0 lead against the All Blacks 7s as Meli Derenalagi and Sireli Maqala crossed in the opening three minutes.
New Zealand co-captain Scott Curry stemmed the tide, scoring his fifth try of the tournament and reducing the deficit to seven, but Jiuta Wainiqolo responded almost immediately for the Fijians.
Almost a minute after the halftime siren sounded, Sione Molia broke free of the Fijian defence to ensure the World Series champions remained in touch.
But the Kiwis were kept scoreless for the entire second half, as Fiji grabbed a fourth, courtesy of Asaeli Tuivuaka, and Waisea Nacuqu ended the match with a penalty conversion.
With their second Olympic title, Fijian captain Jerry Tuwai becomes the only sevens player to have two Olympic gold medals, being the only player from Rio to play in Tokyo.
Comparing the two triumphs, Tuwai said, “It is more special than 2016 because we have been away from our families for about five or six months. I have three kids so it is really hard for me.
“My mum and dad sacrificed to buy my first boots. Those boots took me to Rio, to my first gold medal, and now my second. That is why I am really grateful to my whole family who have helped me along the way.”
Commenting on the joyous scenes back in Fiji he added, “It will be very loud. We have very loud voices and I know everyone is shouting back in Fiji. They will not be thinking about the pandemic now but the celebration of the gold medal.”
Due to the pandemic, Fiji has been in training camps for the past five months and have been unable to see their families.
Coach Gareth Baber made sure to pay special tribute to all the players and staff for their commitment during this period.
"Takes a special kind of person to make that commitment,” said Baber.
New Zealand co-captain Scott Curry was disappointed with the result, but proud to be an Olympic silver medallist.
We went into it with a lot of confidence and belief that we could come away with gold, so it is obviously very disappointing to come up short,” Curry said.
“Fiji played really well and credit to them, they deserved the gold on the day. But I was really proud of our group. It has been a long time getting to this point and I have a lot of love and pride for our group.”
Australia had a mixed final day, as they struggled early against South Africa in the fifth-place play-off, leaving their run too late to eventually fall short by three (22-19).
They made sure to bounce back against Canada in the play-off for seventh, running in four tries to one, and shutting the Canucks out in the second half, to record a convincing 26-7 victory.
